Help Baby Ved Get Cured Of His Painful Blood Disorder

Ved is just over an year old, but has  already undergone more than 7 painful blood transfusions. At 8 months, he was diagnosed with Thalassemia Major. Since then he had to get a blood transfusion every 4 weeks. Ved’s father works in a private firm in Ahmedabad and his mother is a home-maker. 

“Ved had a constant fever since he was 6 months old. When we took him to the doctor, he advised blood tests. The results worried the doctor and he suggested that we get complete set of tests.” Both Rohit and wife were tested and it was found out that they were Thalassemia Minor. Then began the search for a cure for their son’s treatment. The temporary solution was blood transfusions when Ved’s haemoglobin levels got too low. The permanent solution is to get a bone marrow transplant done.

Ved needs to be tested every month and when his haemoglobin levels become too low, Ved is taken for a blood transfusion. But getting him there is a heartbreaking task. “He knows  we are taking him to the hospital, so he runs and hides, and breaks his  toys in anxiety. We have to divert his attention,” says Rohit. They play his favourite songs and make him watch cartoons. After an hour of distracting him from the frightening thoughts of the hospital, they take him to the hospital. Once in the hospital, he falls asleep, tired from all the exertion.  

For the next one hour, Rohit and his wife are relieved that their son feels no pain from the blood transfusion process. “I don’t know how my wife bears the sight of our son in the hospital bed. I can’t look at him during the process. I pray to God to give him strength. He is too small to bear this pain.” 

When Ved wakes up, Rohit needs to come up with something to distract him again to occupy him during the transfusion. He has to stay still till the process is completed. They give him chocolates and play his favourite songs and manage to keep him still for another 4-5 hours.

When the doctors at Ahmedabad suggested that Ved should be taken to CMC Vellore for a bone-marrow transplant, the family didn’t hesitate. Their hopes of easing Ved’s condition were high when they found a 19-year-old matching donor from the stem cells registry. The doctors gave an estimate of Rs 35 lakhs for the procedure. But three months later, the donor backed out due to family pressure.  

That was a big setback for the family. They were so close to saving their son and they couldn’t believe that they were back to square one. They tried other registries and found a match from the US. But this time the procedure would cost much more since there were the additional charges for tests and shipping the stem cells. The procedure was to cost Rs 50 lakhs. They family was now asked to produce Rs 30 lakhs for the donor  tests and shipping the stem cells and Rs 20 lakhs for the transplant  procedure.

They family is left with no hope. They have managed to collect Rs 50,000 from family and friends. This support will cover only a portion of what is required. Any support to this family will make a huge difference at this crucial time. Your support will help save baby Ved's life.